Rockey Jones (left) and Christian Dean are the driving force behind Downday. The band has its roots deep in the Arkansas River Valley and has seen national radio play. Jones and Dean play guitar and sing in front of bassist Damon Shores and drummer Mike Martin. (FOR THE COURIER / Render Records)

When locals Rockey Jones and Christian Dean hit the studio in 2009 to record music for their band Downday, they had no idea they would eventually be signing a record deal with Render Records out of Nashville, Tenn.

“We weren’t taking it very seriously at the time,” Dean said. “However the songs came out, that’s how they’d be out. We didn’t take it too seriously.”

Both artists spent time in a group called SingleTree, which enjoyed success on the country charts with their single “Is It Really Over Now” in 2006, but when the duo parted from the tree, Downday was born.

“We are both songwriters and over the years we had both written all these songs,” Jones explained. “We just went to a studio and recorded them. We didn’t care if the radio would play them or not.”

But the band was surprised to learn that the songs, which became their first album, “Downday Chapter 1,” resonated with a lot of people.

“The response was really good,” Jones said. “So we started getting more serious about it.”

Downday, which proudly powers through both the country and rock genres, found its audience exactly where the group had hoped it would — in the hearts of blue-collar, everyday people.

“It’s country lyrics with heavy guitars,” Jones said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people on Facebook, or people tell me, they’ve got a fire going, drinking a few beers and they’re listening to our record.”

The mixed persona has resulted in success on multiple fronts. Downday has made the front page of iTunes in both the rock and the country categories, with songs that come straight from life. According to Dean, every song should be 90 percent truth and 10 percent elaboration.

“The songs are stuff that we’ve lived. If you listen to our songs, you can really see where we were when we wrote them,” Dean said. “Take the song ‘Guitar Man.’ It talks about getting stoned, but I don’t smoke pot. It talks about my kid turning 21, but I don’t have a 21-year-old kid. It just fit the song and if you listen to it, you still get to see a very real part of my life.”

The band describes the life of a traveling musician as rough and hard on the family. When asked how they balance the two, Dean joked, “You get divorced.”

But, then, more seriously, “It’s really rough, man. It’s hard on a family. If you don’t have the right marriage, it’s a time bomb. Luckily, he and I are both married to women who support us 110 percent.”

It took four years for Downday to find a label to call their own. Steve Freeman, who co-founded Render Records, said he simply popped in the record one day and fell in love with their music.

“I’ve known Rockey and Chris for a long time,” Freeman said. “I knew they were working on an album, but I hadn’t started Render Records at that time. I kind of rediscovered the album one day. I know they were just writing that album, sort of getting it off their chest, but they really had something there.”

Freeman drove from Tennessee to Fort Smith shortly after signing them to see the band perform live in April.

“That’s when I really got excited,” he said. “I had seen Rockey perform and I’d seen Chris perform, but I’d never seen Downday perform. I very rarely see artists get the kind of response these guys got from the crowd and to make it in today’s music business, you’ve got to have that. You can have the music and the talent, but if people don’t respond to it, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Downday recently recorded the music video for their singles “Back in the Day” and “Tonight I’m Drinking” on Front Street in Dardanelle. Both videos are expected to be delived to the music video channel networks CMT, GAC, TNN, MTV and VH1 in early July.

“They could have shot those videos anywhere,” Freeman said. “They wanted to shoot it right here in the River Valley because it’s their home. I kept hearing them say things like ‘When it finally happens,’ and I finally had to tell them, ‘Look around you, it’s happening now.’

“They’ve both paid their dues. What we want to do is take what they’ve managed to create in the River Valley and put that on a global set.”

Many bands pay their dues and never see headway. It’s the fear that haunts the steps of every band as they are starting out. Downday stands on the cusp of “making it.”

According to the band, the opportunity is simply too great to ignore.

“I don’t want to be 70 [years old] thinking I should have taken that chance,” Jones said. “We’ve been doing this since we were kids. We’ve been working for right now all our lives. It’s my dream. I don’t dream about my day job. I dream about stepping on that stage and playing. You get one trip through this life that I know of. I’m going to make the most of it.”

Downday’s music can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and most digital distribution outlets.

Their website is www.downdayband.com. The band will kick off its U.S. tour with a show at Front Street Grill in Dardanelle on Aug. 3.

Wow ChesterMolester, the "furth graid" comment really hurt! You may be right - maybe I need to avoid your sharp barbs! I did gradiate by he way. Sorry it took me a few days to see it. I do have a life and cannot spend all of my time commenting on newspaper articles, spellchecking comments and imposing my beliefs on everyone. I really enjoy how you do it, though. By the way, they make mouthwash and breath spray that will take care of that superhuman stench problem that you mentioned so that ou don't have to use it. Gotta go, have a train to catch!

If you are trying to match wits with me, hang it up. It is quite obvious by your Archie comments that this will not happen. Some free, unsolicited advice. If you have an axe to grind with someone about who they "diddled" keep it out of the "chalenging" newspaper and take it up with them personally. Some of us are happy for their success in the music business and we enjoy their "art" in spite of any diddling that may have happened in the past. Oh yeah, and get a life! Or did I say that already?

That doesn't even make sense, Chester. Why be so hateful in all your comments on the Courier? Easy to be so judgmental when hiding behind a fake name. Why not use all this time you spend commenting to generate good energy, not bad?

I know both of these guys and you are way off base. You always seem to have a bizzare comment on every topic. Take up a hobby that you are good at because editorial commentary is not your calling. Get a life!